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Virginia Drug Statistics and Facts

  • The abuse and availability of major drugs continues to augment in Virginia. The primarily stay drugs in Virginia continue to be Marijuana, Meth, and Cocaine.
  • According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2009 there were 30,119 people admitted into alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers in Virginia.
  • In Virginia, 18 to 25 year olds are among the largest demographic with unmet treatment needs. In 2008, the last year of published data, 12 million prescriptions were collected which fell under Schedule II, III, and IV drugs.
  • In Virginia around 56,000 (9%) adolescents used an illegal drug in the past month; 37,000 (6%) used Marijuana, and 26,000 (4.3%) used an illegal drug other than Marijuana.
  • In Virginia teenage females were significantly more likely than males to have used any illegal drug in the past month (11.3% versus 6.7%).
  • In Virginia, 17,000 adolescent males and 27,000 adolescents females used painkillers nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the interview.
  • Nearly 56,000 (9%) of the 619,000 adolescents in Virginia used an illegal drug in the past month; 37,000 (6%) used Marijuana, and 26,000 (4.3%) used an illegal drug other than Marijuana, according to the combined 2003 to 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
  • In 2009, there were 5,639 Virginia residents admitted for alcohol abuse as the main substance and an additional 6,681 people admitted for alcohol dependence mixed with a secondary drug.
  • Since 1992, the number of Virginia residents suffering from mental health disorders and substance abuse has tripled from 9 percent in 1992 to 30 percent in 2004.
  • There were 2,513 Virginia citizens that entered drug rehabilitation for smoking Cocaine in 2009. An additional 928 people went to drug treatment for Cocaine addiction that ingested Cocaine by means other than smoking it.
  • Heroin was the 3rd most commonly abused drug for people entering drug rehabilitation in 2009, in Virginia
  • There were 2,426 individuals, in Virginia that entered drug treatment for Heroin addiction, of that number 60.4 percent were men and 39.5 percent were women. There has been a constant increase over the last decade of Heroin addiction.
  • 6,284 Virginia residents went into drug treatment for Marijuana addiction in 2009.
  • In Virginia, Marijuana was the most frequently abused drug for those who were admitted for treatment in 2009.
  • Virginia teenagers, 12 to 17 year olds and young adults 21 to 25 year olds were the 2 largest demographics entering drug addiction treatment in 2009. Males consisted of 74.9 percent of all receiving treatment.
  • In 2009, 2,426 Virginia residents entered drug treatment for addiction to Opiates other than Heroin. The largest demographic entering treatment for Opiates other than Heroin were the 26 to 30 year olds with 60 percent of that number being male.
  • In Virginia, 4,100 people were admitted for drug rehabilitation program for other drugs in 2009. This category includes amphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens and all other drugs including steroids, ecstasy, etc.
  • In 2007, there were 19,726 arrests for Marijuana offenses making Virginia twenty-fifth in the nation for these arrests.
  • 713 individuals died, in Virginia, as a consequence of drug use compared to 1,081 people that died as a result of car accidents and 825 people that died as a result of firearms incidents
  • In Virginia, Marijuana possession arrests accounted for 89 percent of all Marijuana arrests in 2007.